The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s vibrant undersea world is as close to Finding Dory as little kids can get. Though they won’t spot a seven-legged octopus like Hank, they’ll certainly see real-deal specimens of familiar friends at the many exhibits and habitats here.
Open Sea Exhibit
Through this impressive exhibit’s 90-foot-wide picture window, kids can catch a glimpse of dozens of sea creatures, including scalloped hammerhead sharks, green sea turtles, pelagic stingrays, and sardines, gliding through 1.2 million gallons of water. (You can prep your kids ahead of time for this spectacular attraction with the aquarium’s cool live web cam.)
For small children, the sheer scale of the viewing window feels almost like stepping into an underwater movie theater, where the ever-changing scene keeps their attention as animals drift past at different depths. Schools of silvery sardines swirl and shift shape like a living cloud, while larger animals cruise slowly by, making it easy for little ones to spot and follow them.
Benches in front of the glass invite families to sit and linger, giving kids time to watch quietly or point out their favorite creatures as they glide past. The result is an immersive, calming experience that captivates young visitors, even those most prone to distraction.
Into the Deep Exhibit
The Into the Deep exhibit offers a rare glimpse into one of the planet’s most mysterious environments, and its otherworldly creatures quickly capture young imaginations. Dim lighting and glowing displays recreate the feeling of descending into the deep ocean, where sunlight never reaches and unusual animals thrive. Kids are often mesmerized by delicate jellyfish drifting through the water, their translucent bodies pulsing and glowing as if lit from within. Nearby tanks reveal animals rarely seen in everyday life, from spiny deep-sea crabs to unusual fish adapted to extreme pressure and darkness. Interactive displays help explain how these creatures survive in such a harsh habitat, turning the exhibit into a fun learning experience as well as a visual spectacle.
Kelp Forest
In the Kelp Forest, children can get their hands wet in the 40-foot-long touch pool teeming with sea urchins, kelp crabs, sea stars, and other marine life. Nearby, towering strands of kelp sway gently in a massive tank, recreating the underwater forests found along California’s coast. Kids can watch rockfish, leopard sharks, and bright orange garibaldi—the state marine fish—glide through the leafy habitat. Interactive displays help young visitors learn how kelp forests support an incredible variety of sea life, making this exhibit both a hands-on and eye-opening introduction to one of the Pacific’s most important ecosystems.
African Penguins & Sharks
You’ll probably want to park it for a while in the African penguins area. Here, everyone can watch feeding African penguins, whose natural habitat—perhaps surprisingly—is not icy at all but similar to Monterey’s, along the coast of South Africa. Nearby, sleek sharks glide effortlessly through the water, sometimes passing just inches from the glass. The exhibit also introduces young guests to several different species, helping them understand that these predators come in many shapes and sizes, several of which are not as fearsome as movies often suggest.